The present invention relates in general to insulation concepts and arrangements for surrounding or enclosing an interior member, such as insulation around a pipe or insulation around a fragile or delicate instrument. More particularly the present invention relates to reusable, versatile protective packaging wrap of alternating, rigid and flexible sections for use in enclosing, surrounding and protecting products, devices and components during shipment. In certain instances the protective packaging may be used after shipment for protection during use or for thermal insulation, such as around a water heater.
There are a variety of methods and devices which are commonly used for protecting products and components from physical damage during handling, shipping, transportation, etc. Whether shipped by water, air, road or rail, these products and components may be subjected to physical impact, dropping or collision. The problems and considerations of protection do not change regardless of the origin or destination. Dropping and rough handling can occur at any time.
With the increased interest and activity in the area of mail order consumer shopping, overnight air deliveries and other services of this type, there is a trend toward smaller items being shipped in their own container with their own special packaging requirements. Very often an individual may ship items via the U.S. Postal Service or similar courier or express mail service that requires special cushioning and protection in order to withstand the rigors of handling during sorting, routing and transportation.
There are several commonly used methods of packaging that have proven successful when correctly selected and applied for the particular product or component. One of the most common methods of protecting small to medium size consumer products is to make a molded expanded polystyrene (EPS) barrier that encloses all or part of the item to be protected. This combination is then usually placed in a corrugated box or container which is sealed and then labeled for shipment. One significant cost aspect associated with such molded expanded polystyrene packaging is the cost of tooling. In order to precisely shape the molded EPS for the particular product the tooling must be specifically designed and while very expensive, it also has a somewhat limited production life. This fact creates several considerations before one should select this protecting packaging option. Molded EPS is best suited for high volume mass production items because of the tooling expense. However, a different tool and molded packaging part design is needed for each and every different item to be shipped if a close conforming fit between the part and the EPS barrier is desired. Once an item has been shipped to its final destination, the molded EPS protective packaging simply becomes waste for a landfill or trash dump. The machinery necessary for molding EPS is very expensive and thus is a major factor in the cost and selling price of such EPS protective packaging.
Another common method of protective packaging is the use of corrugated paper products. These types of protective items are most often in sheet form for some cushioning effect or in the form of a corner post for added structural strength and integrity to the overall package. This structural strength enables the cartons to be stacked one on top of the other even when relatively heavy items are packaged inside without crushing the lower cartons. Appliances and home entertainment devices are typically packaged in this way with a corrugated support pad surrounded by four corrugated corner posts which are then all enclosed by an exterior and surrounding corrugated box.
Resilient flexible foams are also used for protective packaging, either by themselves or in combination with corrugated paper, molded rigid foam, fabricated rigid foam, corrugated boxes, corner post, etc. As might be appreciated, each of these existing methods of protective packaging have some attributes as well as some deficiencies. To more clearly emphasize these strengths and weaknesses it is important to outline the important and desirable characteristics of any protective packaging material or system.
One consideration is to provide adequate cushioning or shock absorption for the product or component being shipped. The normal handling of packaged products during loading, shipment and unloading exposes a package to a variety of impact forces and collisions that can cause damage to the product inside the carton. If a product is surrounded partially or entirely by a material such as flexible foam it will be cushioned to a degree from these external forces which may be applied at almost any point on the package. When these external forces strike the package the resilient material surrounding the product yields and hopefully prevents this external force from being transmitted to the product inside.
If a package is dropped the external box would see damage from the force of striking the ground while hopefully the foam would not only prevent transmission of some or all of this force but would also allow the product inside to have some capability of movement or shifting similar to shock absorber action. The inertia generated by the falling motion due to gravity compresses the foam allowing the product inside the carton to stop more gradually than the box thus preventing some or all of the potential damage.
Some packaging techniques allow for a spacing or set back of the product from the surrounding carton. When the product is suspended in the center of a box by several inches of space buffer around it, it is possible to puncture the box or deform some portion of the box and yet not reach the product inside.
Some packaging techniques provide additional stiffness such as corrugated corner posts or a combination of wood and corrugated paper laminated into corner posts in order to allow these packages to be stacked one upon another and yet support the weight of the carton and the product inside. Other protective packaging techniques include thermal insulation so that a product may be shipped at or near a desired temperature and remain in an acceptable temperature range during shipment regardless of normal outside temperature variations. Thermal insulation as part of the protective packaging may be desired when shipping medical or chemical supplies which need to be maintained within a relatively narrow temperature band or when shipping produce or food products which may need to be kept at a lower temperature to maintain freshness and prevent the produce from spoiling.
In almost every instance outlined above an external container, usually of corrugated paper or paperboard is used in combination with one or more of the identified protective packaging techniques. Although there are many variations or permutations for protective packaging, most products are shipped in a corrugated container with corrugated corner posts and corrugated sheets inside often with molded foam or cushioning material. In some instances loose filler materials or "peanuts" may be used. Most protective packaging combinations have certain desirable properties as well as certain weaknesses or deficiencies. By first considering all the possible attributes or properties each specific combination can then be evaluated or rated as to whether it is excellent, good, average or poor as to each property or attribute. By understanding the pluses and minuses associated with each type of protective packaging an appropriate selection can be made depending on what the shipper wants to achieve and the nature of the product being shipped.
Typically properties or attributes of a protective packaging system which may be important to a shipper include the following:
______________________________________ Stiffening Strength Shock Absorption Contoured Shape Preciseness Setback Suspension Thermal Insulation Puncture Resistance Tooling Costs Production Costs Recyclable Biodegradable Reusable ______________________________________
As an indication of typical protective packaging options and how well suited they are in providing each property or attribute, the following sampling is offered. For stiffening and strength corrugated corner posts are excellent while flexible foam or loose packing is relatively poor. For shock absorption flexible foam is excellent while corrugated pads and corner posts are relatively poor. For contoured shape preciseness molded EPS is excellent while corrugated pads and corner posts are only average to poor. For setback suspension molded EPS is excellent. For thermal insulation materials such as fiberglass and molded foam are excellent while corrugated pads are poor. As to puncture resistance, setback suspension likely provides the best resistance simply by buffering the product from the inside surfaces of the container by an airspace. However, sufficient layers of corrugated pads and posts would provide some puncture resistance. As to tooling costs, corrugated pads and corner posts as well as loose packing material are excellent in that their cost is negligible. As to molded EPS, its cost is extremely high and thus would be rated as poor with regard to tooling costs. The same would be true as to production costs with loose packing and corrugated paper having virtually no production cost or at least a negligible production cost while molded EPS would be comparatively extremely high. As to the properties of being recyclable, biodegradable or reusable molded EPS is relatively poor as to each due to its specific nature which is tied to the shape of the specific product shipped.
Corrugated lamination have stiffness as their most important attribute. Corner posts can be made by laminating sheets of corrugated paper or paperboard together and then slitting them in order to allow a 90.degree. fold along the length. Thus when these corrugated corner posts are placed vertically in a box, typically in the corner, they add excellent stacking strength, stiffness to the carton and they provide an adequate buffer space or setback between the carton wall and the product. However, corrugated paper or paperboard is not flexible or resilient and therefore not very good for cushioning. While it would be possible to put an inner layer of cushioning material between the product and the corner post for shock absorption, this would require the use of a larger carton in order to accommodate the extra thickness of protective packaging material. This design would also affect the stacking strength because the corner post would be able to, move within the carton as the foam cushion deflects. Without a compressible cushioning layer the corner post cannot move because they are contained in contact with the carton on one side and with the product on the other side.
Molded EPS packaging components or parts have excellent conformability to the intricacies of the shape or contour of the product to be protected. The major drawback to molded EPS is the cost of tooling and the high cost of production. A user of this protective packaging concept must have very high volume production and preferably standard shaped parts in order to justify the tooling expense. Further, because these items are molded to precisely fit a given part they do not have any generic recyclable or reusable capability. Once they are removed from around the shipped product they are typically discarded. This adds to waste and landfill problems because this material is not biodegradable. Molded EPS will provide some stiffening properties but it does not perform as well in this regard as do corrugated paper or paperboard laminates. Molded EPS also does not cushion as well as flexible foam. Noting that flexible foam has cushioning as its most important attribute and does not provide much else in the way of protective packaging attributes.
By making a packaging jacket or wrap by combining the stiffness of corrugated paperboard or rigid foam with the cushioning and deflection characteristics of flexible foam, the resultant wrap can offer unique protective packaging advantages. As described in applicant's prior U.S. patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,878,459 and 4,972,759, it is possible to laminate alternating strips of different materials in order to provide a protective wrap with unique advantages. Alternating rigid and flexible material provides a protective packaging product that can bend and form itself around a product to be protected even when that product has a somewhat intricate or unique contour. At the same time this protective packaging will provide adequate stiffness and rigidity for stacking strength. These two U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,878,459 and 4,972,759, both issued to Nelson are hereby expressly incorporated by reference for the entirety of their respective disclosures.